


Holiday traditions

by petals_sunwards



Series: Hermione's Nook - A Very Potter Advent Calendar [20]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cute Kids, Diwali, Diwali at Hogwarts, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fun, Gen, Hinduism, Holidays, I'm Bad At Tagging, Indian Character, Magical Community, exchanging of culture, indian festivals, stories, story time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21667900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petals_sunwards/pseuds/petals_sunwards
Summary: Hogwarts firsties celebrate Diwali for the first time with Padma and Parvati.Fun times with stories of gods and demons, lot of snacks and games.
Series: Hermione's Nook - A Very Potter Advent Calendar [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534016
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16
Collections: A Very Potter Advent Calendar





	Holiday traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for beta reading Ariel Sakura! I was so worried how this one was turning out.
> 
> Diwali is equivalent to the Christmas in India. It is celebrated nationwide with various customs and traditions. The story I wrote is mostly based on traditions in Maharashtra and stories my parents/grand-parents told me. :) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this little story!
> 
> Aai-baba means mom-dad and aaji-aajoba means grandma-grandpa

Parvati ran towards Padma when she spotted her twin entering the great hall.

“Happy Birthday!” the twins chorused together as they hugged each other tightly.

“I can’t wait for our gifts! In her last letter, aai wrote dada is planning to come over for his Diwali vacation. I can’t wait to find out what aaji and aajoba sent with him.” Parvati exclaimed as she dragged Padma inside.

“I hope aaji has sent a lot of chakli and ladu. And lots of new figurines. Oh Parvati, we didn’t get to build a fort this year!” Padma chimed in.

Unaware of the growing confusion of their new friends, the twins continued their discussion. Hermione, Terry, Lissa, Pansy, Susan, and Hannah were watching them curiously. Lavender and Mandy, however, couldn’t stand the mystery.

“But your birthday is on the 18th of October! We celebrated it with cake and presents.” Lavender interjected.

“Today is the 3rd of November. Why are you wishing each other ‘Happy Birthday’ today? You can’t have more than one birthday!” Mandy cut in, pausing the twins in their tracks.

“We were born on Dhantrayodashi. We always celebrate our birthday on this day. Since it’s in the middle of Diwali, everyone is home.”  Parvati explained as if it was common knowledge, but Padma took note of confused faces of their friends and elaborated further.

“Our birthday is on the 18th of October according to the Gregorian Calendar. It tracks dates using the relative position of the sun. But in India, we follow another calendar based on relative positions of both sun and moon. So the tithi, according to Vikram Samvat and date according to the Gregorian varies every year. Our birthday falls on Ashwin vadhya trayodashi, or Dhantrayodashi if we follow the lunisolar calendar. Since it is during the Diwali festival, as Parvati said, our family celebrates it today!” 

“I never knew there are different calendars! How does it work? So is the year different as well or is it 1991 according to the other calendar? How do you balance the time difference? I know we use a leap year and add an extra day in February. You said something like- tithi? What is special about it? You said it is an auspicious day.” Hermione fired her questions without hesitation.

“Vikram Samvat is almost 50 years ahead. Tithi is something like a lunar day. Something to do with an angle between the sun and the moon. Today is Ashwin vadya trayodashi, the year 2047, and the calendar adds an extra month every four years to balance the difference. It is a difficult calculation. But aajoba said he would teach me when I’m older.” Padma answered Hermione’s first question with a hint of pride and Hermione beamed at her.

“As for today,” Padma continued, “it is Dhantrayodashi. The story goes like this: Long, long ago, gods and demons were fighting over who gets to rule the universe. When they could not settle the differences between them, they went to Lord Vishnu, who suggested a friendly game. They came up with a game of churning the eternal ocean and the side that wears out first will lose. Both sides agreed, and they began to churn using a mountain as a churning rod and a giant snake as the churning rope. As time passed, it released several treasures from the ocean. On this day, ‘halahal’, the most potent poison and Laxmiji, goddess of wealth were discovered. Lord Shiva drank the poison and his consort; the Goddess Parvati saved him by making sure he wouldn’t swallow it.”

“Wow,”

Padma nodded, “That’s why we are named Parvati and Padma. I’m named after the Goddess Laxmi, who was called Padma because she was sitting in a lotus when she appeared.” 

“What is Diwali?” Terry asked, soaking in new information.

“Diwali is a festival of lights. It is the biggest festival celebrated in India. It is five days long, and each day has its own stories and traditions associated with it. But mainly it is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. It is a season of spreading cheer and love to everyone. It symbolizes that it doesn’t matter how small the light is, it will always guide the traveller in the right direction. We have a lot of fun during these days, though we have to start by cleaning our house weeks prior.” Parvati answered the question, glowing as she remembered fun times.

The small circle around them had grown in size and everyone around them was listening to them with rapt attention.

“Diwali means rows of lamps. Every night during Diwali, we light small earthen lamps outside our houses, on roofs and in temples. We also hang lanterns to illuminate the house more. We draw rangoli motifs to decorate the place and light fireworks for the celebrations. We make lots of festival food and get new clothes and receive lots of gifts. If we can’t visit our relatives, we send a card. We build forts to represent the kingdom and decorate them using tiny figurines of kings and soldiers. Since aai-baba are healers, they pray to Dhanvantari, God of medicine. He appeared from the ocean alongside Laxmiji.”

“It’s like a week-long Christmas with stories linked with each day! That sounds like fun! What are other days in Diwali?” Susan’s small voice rang in the silence.

“The second day is Narak Chaturdashi. There was a foul and filthy demon called Narakasura. He was the worst demon hell offered. Lord Krishna, with help from his wife, defeated the monster and freed the imprisoned population. It symbolizes liberation from hell, suffering and ill health. Legend says, before he fought the monster, Lord Krishna’s wife massaged his body with scented oils. She then drew him a ritual bath, rich with cleaning and purifying herbs. On this day we wake up before sunrise just like Lord Krishna. Then we take a ritual bath, and afterwards, fireworks alight the sky to celebrate his victory. There are musical festivals or big diya lightening ceremonies to celebrate the occasion. We mingle around visiting friends and business associates, exchanging sweets and gifts.” Padma smiled, pleased by nodding heads in the audience.

“Like tree lighting ceremonies and Christmas Eve parties. I love tree lighting in our village! The fairy lights look so pretty!” Lissa chirped.

“The third day, Laxmi Pujan, is the main event of the festival.” Parvati took over. “It is the wedding day of Lord Vishnu and Laxmiji. Since it is the darkest new moon, we light small deeps to illuminate the surrounding. We set some afloat on rivers and streams. Rangolis and garlands are everywhere to decorate the place for the wedding. Since the wedding started at dusk, we begin praying in the evening. It is a welcoming feast for goddess Laxmi. She represents abundance, prosperity, good luck, and happiness. After the prayer, we distribute sweets and light firecrackers to celebrate. It is the day for families to be together and enjoy the festivities.”

“What’s the story behind the fourth day?” Lavender asked when Parvati didn’t continue immediately.

“The fourth day is Balipratipada or Padava.” She picked up the story. “It is the day to pay tribute to the benevolent and brave Demon King Bali. We still remember the good demon king and try to be as brave and unselfish. For traders and merchants, it is the start of a new year.” 

Parvarti let that sink in before she told them the rest. 

“It is also the day to celebrate the bond between husband and wife. Some say on this day, Lord Shiva and Parvati were playing a gambling game. When he lost, he presented Parvati with gifts and husbands everywhere follow the suite. Some families gamble amongst themselves on that night.” she added as an afterthought.

“That sounds like fun! I love card games on a family game night! We always play board games on Christmas day. Father says; the family that plays together, stays together!” Pansy professed, and the crowd laughed.

“Card games are fun, but I am pants at them. Parvati and aaji always cheat by counting cards! They gang up on everyone else and take all the money” Padma shared, glaring at her twin.   
“I love bhaubeej more. It is the day to celebrate the bond between brother and sister. The story says, Yama, the Lord of Death, was the first person to die. His twin sister was grieving for him for a long time but was reunited with him on Yamadvitiya. On this day, sisters perform a blessing ritual to ward off the evil and pray for their brother’s protection. I can’t wait to see what gifts our older cousins have sent for us!”

“But we won’t get it until we go home.” Parvati moaned. “Aai is going to send festival food today! I can’t imagine Diwali without building the fort and setting off firecrackers!”

“We can always build a fort near the black lake! It will be just like building a snowman! We will help you with it, and we can ask fairies to live in it!” Hannah tried to console her.

“We can ask some Prefects to transfigure some figurines to decorate it” Hermione suggested, perking up at the idea.

“And I am pretty sure my brothers have fireworks stashed somewhere,” Ron declared, puffing his chest.

“We can get some puffapods beans from Professor Sprout.” Neville said, his nerves gathering as everyone turned to him, “W-we can use it to decorate the fort. They grow very quickly into shiny pink seedpods. We can get up early tomorrow, and eat snacks sent by your mum next to our fort.” 

Everyone cheered excitedly at Neville’s suggestion, and the shy boy looked immensely heartened that they liked his idea. Twins kissed his cheeks and with a broad smile he sprinted off towards greenhouses

Three hours later, the first years were admiring their handiwork. Next to the Black Lake stood a small replica of the fort in Padma’s book, adorned with small statues of soldiers and small animals. Padma and Parvati lit a small earthen lamp next to it and the first celebration of Diwali at Hogwarts began!


End file.
